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Backpack on plateau above Williamson Bowl
#31909 06/18/13 04:49 PM
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gardvan Offline OP
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Pack lost on the edge of the high plateau over Williamson Bowl, directly above the two small lakes feeding Williamson Creek (we accessed by Shepherd Pass) on October 22nd 2012 in a wind/snow storm:
Blue/gray backpack with contents as follows (some items may not appear on list):
Suisse Sport sleeping bag
North Face parka, red
Buck sheath knife
iPod
Thermarrest pad
Uniden radio, red
Kelty Teton II tent
Headlamp
Utensil set
Camelback bladder
Compact stove and small fuel canister
I would greatly appreciate someone letting me know the GPS coordinates of this pack if you see it. Thanks, gardvan

Re: Backpack on plateau above Williamson Bowl
gardvan #31912 06/18/13 07:26 PM
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I just went up two weeks ago but couldn't identify exactly where we had to hunker down for a while in a tent (where the pack got blown away downhill). Again very appreciative for a GPS tag.

Re: Backpack on plateau above Williamson Bowl
gardvan #31913 06/18/13 10:57 PM
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Ooof! A fully loaded pack blown away? Must have been an awful storm! I sure hope you can recover it.

You might register and post the same info on the Whitney Portal Store's forum. There are sometimes reports there of Williamson treks.

Any chance you can tell us where you think you were when it disappeared? Here's an interactive map of the area, and when you move the cursor around, it reports the gps coordinates down in the corner: Williamson Bowl area map

Re: Backpack on plateau above Williamson Bowl
Steve C #31918 06/19/13 08:53 AM
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Steve - I have never in my life been blown off my feet, literally. It was nice on Saturday, but overnight the winds came up and sounded like freight trains. It was white out, sustained gale force winds on Sunday, Oct 22. Without GPS and no visibility to see the peaks, we were forced to hunker down for a couple of hours, then sought lower ground and some kind of protection to bivvy for the next 18 or so hours (3 guys, 1 tent, 2 sleeping bags). It was the mountain imposing its will.

Thanks for the map - I marked it, here is the link, the red line is approximately where we were, but very approx:

http://www.mappingsupport.com/p/gmap4.ph...3035|| line=off


Re: Backpack on plateau above Williamson Bowl
gardvan #31926 06/19/13 05:00 PM
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Originally Posted By: gardvan
Steve - I have never in my life been blown off my feet, literally. It was nice on Saturday, but overnight the winds came up and sounded like freight trains. It was white out, sustained gale force winds on Sunday, Oct 22. Without GPS and no visibility to see the peaks, we were forced to hunker down for a couple of hours, then sought lower ground and some kind of protection to bivvy for the next 18 or so hours (3 guys, 1 tent, 2 sleeping bags). It was the mountain imposing its will.


It could have been worse and you all did well to survive. This was the storm in which Larry Conn, whose remains were only recently recovered, lost his life at Taboose Pass. That discussion is here .

BTW, if there was food in that pack, even in a bear can, it is likely that nothing else in the pack except hardware is recoverable, so I would consider its likely condition before suggesting or attempting retrieval. Even if there was no food, it no doubt has taken a real beating.


Wherever you go, there you are.
SPOTMe!
Re: Backpack on plateau above Williamson Bowl
gardvan #31927 06/19/13 05:47 PM
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Originally Posted By: gardvan
I have never in my life been blown off my feet, literally. It was nice on Saturday, but overnight the winds came up and sounded like freight trains. It was white out, sustained gale force winds on Sunday, Oct 22. Without GPS and no visibility to see the peaks, we were forced to hunker down for a couple of hours, then sought lower ground and some kind of protection to bivvy for the next 18 or so hours (3 guys, 1 tent, 2 sleeping bags). It was the mountain imposing its will.

Only through storm can we know the beauty of calm.
Frank Smythe, The Spirit of the Hills page 217

Re: Backpack on plateau above Williamson Bowl
saltydog #31937 06/20/13 03:41 PM
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Excellent points, Salty. BTW, certainly not asking anyone to drag that down for me, just would appreciate gps coordinates if someone sees it. Thanks.

Re: Backpack on plateau above Williamson Bowl
gardvan #32465 07/28/13 11:47 AM
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Refreshing this post as it's been a month or so...Thanks


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